RICHMOND, Va. — President Donald Trump on Tuesday named Virginia GOP Chairman Rich Anderson to serve as assistant secretary of the Air Force, where the retired colonel had served for 30 years before leaving the Pentagon for politics in 2009.

The White House announced Anderson’s selection in an email listing dozens of nominations sent to the Senate for its approval. Among the other Virginians on the list was Hung Cao, a Republican who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in November. Cao, a retired Navy captain, is Trump’s pick for under secretary of the Navy.

Anderson, a former Republican state delegate who considered a bid for lieutenant governor this year, will step down from the state party position that he has held since 2020. With Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Swecker leaving her post later this month, both major parties will have new leadership heading into November elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 seats in the state House of Delegates. Democrats will elect their new chairwoman at a March 22 meeting. No date was immediately set for the GOP to replace Anderson.

Anderson, the state GOP and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“During our time serving as party chairs, Rich and I found common ground — as natives of western Virginia, lovers of old-time gospel music and seltzer water, and, most importantly, in our steadfast belief in free and fair elections,” Swecker said. “I deeply respect

Rich’s devotion to this country, especially as a veteran, and I wish him all the best in his new role.”

A Roanoke native who lives in Woodbridge, Anderson got involved in Republican politics after retiring from the Pentagon. He represented a Prince William County state House district for eight years before losing his seat in a 2019 anti-Trump wave.

Anderson took the helm of the Virginia GOP in August 2020, just months before Trump would lose the state by 10 points. The party was at a low point brought on by Trump’s first four years in the White House, losing races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general as well as three reliably red congressional seats. Democrats won full control of the General Assembly for the first time in a generation.

But the party rebounded a year later, with an unpopular President Joe Biden in office and Republican newcomer Youngkin leading a sweep of statewide offices and flipping control of the House of Delegates in 2021. The party has had mixed results since then, regaining one of the congressional seats in 2022 but losing control of the House of Delegates and failing to flip the state Senate in 2023. Trump lost the state by 6 points in November, an improvement over 2020 as he made gains in Northern Virginia suburbs.